A vehicle body panel assembly typically comprises an outer skin and an inner skin. The outer skin serves as the exterior surface of the vehicle while the inner skin is spaced from the outer skin and is located toward the interior of the vehicle. For many body panel assemblies steel structures are sandwiched between the outer skin and the inner skin to provide a protective framework surrounding the passenger compartment to protect vehicle occupants in the event of an accident. In addition, the inner skin may be very hard to provide support for the body panel assembly.
Recently, manufacturers have directed their attention to developing safety systems to prevent injury to a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. Current body panel assemblies raise concerns about injury to pedestrians due to the hardened structures of these assemblies. Manufacturers have developed vehicle exterior airbag systems to cushion the impact of a pedestrian against these panel assemblies. These airbag systems add significant cost to the vehicle and also require a significant amount of space within the vehicle. They also require time to deploy in an accident and may obstruct the view of the driver of the vehicle following deployment.
The hood of a vehicle presents a particular design challenge. The hood not only has hard support structures but further covers unyielding engine components that may present a hard point for injury in the event of a front end accident with a pedestrian. Moreover, there is very little room under the hood to accommodate pedestrian protection systems.
A need therefore exists for an inexpensive body panel assembly that reduces the severity of a pedestrian injury in the event of an accident without the need for an external airbag system.